Spending Your Money

Let’s say, you want to attend an event. You have an option to pay for said event through an electronic financial exchange company, or you can pay onsite at said event. But paying onsite will be more expensive.

Let us also consider the risks, that said event, paid up front, gets canceled, and refunds are not in the scenario. Or life gets in the way and you cannot go. Would you be willing to gamble your money on a hope and prayer? Or would you prefer knowing you are getting what you paid for?

Is it a once in a lifetime event? To me it really depends on the cost but I would really rather get what I pay for.

STS-135; purchased tickets ahead through 3rd party touring company. Weather was iffy; last-minute launch delays. Drama, drama, drama... The kids and I loved every minute of it. I don't know if your situation is similar or not, but I was on summer break and could have extended the vacation a few days if they hadn't taken off on time. I try to leave as much flexibility as possible.

The question is too vague.... What is the difference in cost? What is the probability of not being ale to attend? How badly do you want to go? Are there any down side to waiting besides the cost?

I don't know what the event is, but I can tell you from the other side we want you to register online so badly you can't imagine. I'm chair of an annual charity 5K, and registrations the morning of are a nightmare for integrating into the event. It is not that we are trying to rip anyone off, but the logistical challenges of day of registration makes us incentivize people to register early. That, and preregistration provides some of the working capital to put on the event.

All that said, I see the appeal in day of registration. Especially if you wouldn't want to just donate to the organizing group.

If the event does not offer refunds for cancelations, and cancelation is a distinct possibility, then I would probably wait and pay more onsite when I knew for certain I was going to be there and the event would be happening. I guess it would depend on how much I'd be saving by taking a chance and paying in advance. It would also depend on whether the event was something that could sell out, and your best shot at attending would be to pay up front. There's lots of variables I guess.

les said:

The question is too vague.... What is the difference in cost? What is the probability of not being ale to attend? How badly do you want to go? Are there any down side to waiting besides the cost?

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Cost is not the issue. The probability of not being able to attend is relevant to, what came into play that caused your absence. Your wanting to go depends on you. Geez! It was a simple question!

The event is NSL 2015

Ok, I know what he is asking.

Let's say you have a chance to go to LDRS in California, but there is a possibility of a burn ban.

Would you be willing to pre-register no later than a month in advance, knowing that if the event is canceled you would not get a refund?

Or would you wait until the last minute to make sure the event is on, then pay onsite which is more money?

LW Bercini said:

Ok, I know what he is asking.

Let's say you have a chance to go to LDRS in California, but there is a possibility of a burn ban.

Would you be willing to pre-register no later than a month in advance, knowing that if the event is canceled you would not get a refund?

Or would you wait until the last minute to make sure the event is on, then pay onsite which is more money?

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In this case, on site all the way.

3 times in 10 years I have pre-registered for events ranging from 45.00-65.00 where at the last minute I could NOT attend..

I never cried about it, or even tried to get a refund, even though I knew I probably would for the one where a death was reason.

My logic was.... the cost and time involved putting on any major event is enormous & just looked at my lost fees as a donation to rocketry in general.
Not at all "worried" about getting what I payed for.... but rather paying it forward. Feeling that many times over the years, I have been rescued by various rocket folks, from dire situations, whom with out their help I would have been screwed.

Things like flat tires, pulled out of ditches, borrowing stuff cause I forgot to bring mine, etc.etc.etc.
So losing a few bucks for fees, to any club I know that can really use the money, is a no brainer for me.:wink:


PS I also tend to volunteer for various duties.....heck most of the time I just do them when I see the need.

What Jim said. I did that for LDRS 28.

Ditto for what both Jims said. Happened to me at the last MWP launch. I just had someone pick up my registration pack and T shirt and bring them home.

For something like a launch, pay onsite. It's more onsite, but worth the wait to make sure it's actually going to happen.

Wait, what? Maybe I live in a cave. There are events, that if cancelled, do not refund payments? Sounds like theft to me.

Buckeye said:

Wait, what? Maybe I live in a cave. There are events, that if cancelled, do not refund payments? Sounds like theft to me.

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Most home grown / run events just do not have the capability to manage refunds. Also consider that the funding sent in often goes to advance pay for things that the organizers have no control over. If launch organizers had to be prepared to do refunds in the event something went horribly wrong, I think few people would be willing to sponsor or organize them.

However the OP, I think, is referring to a specific upcoming event and wants to know if you should be entitled to a refund if you can't make it.

H_Rocket said:

if you should be entitled to a refund if you can't make it.

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Your fault - no

The organization's fault - yes

Buckeye said:

Your fault - no

The organization's fault - yes

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What he said.

So if a bunch of folks get together and plan an event. They take advance registration and at the last minute, something out of their control causes a cancellation. In our hobby, that is a distinct risk. You believe, that it is their bad luck that they now have to pay out of their personal pockets to reimburse those who paid in advance? Keep in mind those same folks might have made non cancelable, non refundable payments to suppliers (a big one is sanitary facilities).

Or, how about this, same scenario -> they manage to reschedule the event to a day that is no longer possible for you to attend. Do they owe a refund in that case?

I personally believe that once I pay people who are my friends in the hobby an advance for an event that they are doing everything possible to put on and things go awry, that is just a risk I took. Should I choose not to take that risk, I would just not advance register and accept the fact that some of the benefits that go with it are lost to me.

My $0.02 and YMMV

I find it interesting that, most level 3 people weighing in, are the ones that can "afford" to just chalk it up. Yes, I said afford. It's no mystery that people with money to burn easily, can blow it off. For the record, not all of us live on the same financial level. Just thought you should be reminded.

Buckeye said:

Wait, what? Maybe I live in a cave. There are events, that if cancelled, do not refund payments? Sounds like theft to me.

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You are misunderstanding. The event isn't cancelled the attendee can't attend. Hence no refunds. Always been that way.

Of course that is indeed true. If I can go to a field, drop $400 on a four second M powered rush, I can probably afford to lose $50 or so in the event of a cancellation. Mind you, I won't like it, I work as hard for my scratch as the next guy. I can just live with the scenario easier than some others.

However for me personally, if the risk of losing my money was outside my financial pain point, I would proactively do what is necessary to minimize that risk. In the case of an advance registration scenario like we are discussing, I would do what Mark (Loopy) indicated and register in person. I just don't ask that the folks running an event structure it to my personal needs. I've helped organize several large rockery events and am painfully aware that once you start trying to accommodate individual needs / wants / desires, you end up with a mess that is impossible to manage and will likely honk off three people for every one you make happy.

jimzcatz said:

You are misunderstanding. The event isn't cancelled the attendee can't attend. Hence no refunds. Always been that way.

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Go with event gets canceled. Not being able to attend is not their fault.

It's a lot to organize these events and it's mostly thankless. Preregistration is a huge help as already mentioned. Not every organization has the funds to float all the costs ahead of time. They also have to pay fees that they can't recover even if the launch is prevented. I am happy to preregister even without refund on event cancellation with reason. Its just a reflection that I am willing to accept some of the risk for events I value.

If it is my club, or a club where I fly regularly, I would pay in advance and consider it a donation. On the other hand, if the field was far away and this impacted the likelihood that I could actually attend due to weather or other considerations, I would probably pay on the field.

Cheers,
Michael

Ok enough of the innuendo......what the heck are we talking about here?

Force of nature. Something getting rained out?

Is this NSL?

If this is just a basic risk/reward evaluation...then go with option 2. Wait till event day to pay, you risk nothing that way but a couple bucks extra.

blackjack2564 said:

Ok enough of the innuendo......what the heck are we talking about here?

Force of nature. Something getting rained out?

Is this NSL?

If this is just a basic risk/reward evaluation...then go with option 2. Wait till event day to pay, you risk nothing that way but a couple bucks extra.

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Jim, this was generally speaking. NSL was the inspiration for the thread, but the rabbit hole goes deeper than that. Get your mind out of the rocket gutter and look at the big picture. This is not, "because I support this or that", it's about putting your money in vulnerable places.

blackjack2564 said:

Ok enough of the innuendo......what the heck are we talking about here?

Force of nature. Something getting rained out?

Is this NSL?

If this is just a basic risk/reward evaluation...then go with option 2. Wait till event day to pay, you risk nothing that way but a couple bucks extra.

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I agree whole heartedly! How many launches have I been to where it rained, blew, snowed? Well I still had a great time shooting the sheet with other rocketeers. What a great way to make new friends and enjoy old ones.

Oh, you must be talking about BALLS! Register in advance despite it MAY be cloudy or they MAY shut the range down, etc...